"One-stretch to tattoo" was a board measurement when I left my measuring tape on the ground and I was on the roof. Rough measure was all I needed on it, so 'left hand stretched and from fingertip to wrist tattoo on right' worked. I doubt this method will ever be heard on a construction site, and if anyone bothered reading my mind, they would remain clueless.
Then it was time to tackle the problematic overhang - the area that ices up every winter almost two feet wide and has caused too many headaches. Sixteen-inch overhang without an air gap and insulation compromised - decided I didn't need it, so ripped off the rotting edge to the studs.
If you've never had the vicarious pleasure of rotting wood, mold, ancient insulation, cobwebs and petrified mouse droppings (probably, but I didn't choose to focus on it) falling on your head whilst ripping boards off in high humidity with sweat running off your body - you're not missing anything! Nasty state to be in, and led me to momentarily fantasize about getting cleaned up and pretending I was a lady... or just semi-civilized clean. But the job needed doing, and I seem to be the Chosen One (oh well, easier than leading a bunch of lost people through a desert... Wait! I perfectly qualify for leading the lost!).
Back to the saga. First part was easy enough even if dirty, but sawing the studs down... or up, depending on one's perception. The latest tar on the roof with over 80% humidity and temps over 75 was Gucky. In other words, I already had tar on 30% of my clothing and 10% of my skin. I didn't relish creeping along the edge with my sawzall slurping through the black stick.
Problem with the sawzall is it's heavy; hard for me to 'cut up' from the ladder with it. But...
My little electric chain saw is light. And it extends my reach by 14 inches. So I marked the studs and with my chain saw in some sword-attack position, I whacked off the edges. I seem to cut as straight with this as I would the sawzall, anyway?
I had to clean up some before cutting the 2x4's to space in.
The saving grace of this is Pete loaned me his nail gun and I borrowed Matt's air compressor (and siding nailer, or whatever one calls it). The nail gun is heavy but "bam!" the nail's home. Of course, working alone means moving the ladder and running up and down for a handful of insulation or to trim two hairs' worth off a board, the usual.
I got my exercise and didn't too bad a job. On the last, yes, I did throw myself on the Universe "to keep me from doing anything too stupid" - like dropping a chainsaw on my leg or nailing my hand to the roof. -- Does make cutting a 'short board' seem less critical, doesn't it?
And while I was in the midst of it, the question "What do you most hate to hear?" popped into my head. My first response (sure, to myself, but not a one-sided conversation) was 'angry voices'. Even as I, in my own mortal state, growled at a board in true construction-worker form when it twisted on me.
I said, "You dirty bugger!" at it. :)
Friday, September 11, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Micro-Chaos, or My World Revisited
Stays interesting? My stepmother passed 2 weeks ago which led to a few events not normally experienced in my world. I tried to contact sister Becky and a few other relatives, but haven't heard back from them. Emotionally neutral on this one, in that she never much cared for the Kain kids. That's just the way it was. I attended the funeral out of respect for my dad and can acknowledge she was good for him more than not.
But... Son Dennis and girlfriend and 3 youngsters and dog came to stay the weekend and attend the funeral. A belt on their car disintegrated about 10 miles from the house, so both good and bad luck in that - rather have skipped the belt-thing, but they were close enough to get help! Long story short, they were broke down on a busy road on a Friday night with a car full of chaos. My main concern was getting the kids clear of the traffic, in that this routine traffic tends to be in a self-centered rush, oblivious to others. (Much of it is City folk screaming North for the weekend in a pack. They reverse the drive come Sunday.)
A friend towed the car for them and they spent most of Saturday trying to get a belt back on. Tom responded to their call of frustration, and determined someone had changed the engine block previously - then whipped the belt on in 20 minutes. The kids were hanging out with me much of the time, when I wasn't running in and out of Towne for this and that.
One of the 'this and that's' was a car load of paneling from Habitat, short pieces but suitable for the non-addition ($15 for the batch, not bad). One trip was for a different belt. And while I was out, I bought zucchini from a stand. With Sera bringing home 7 dozen ears of corn mid-week, I kept the kids busy shucking or grating to put this stuff up for the winter.
Yes, these are Busy Kids. Sera and Val opted to go camping with a friend, thus leaving their rooms for use by 'the southern gang' - Rochester, MN. Since the corn and stuff needed freezer space, and since I had a freezer donated by Pete in the yard waiting for a space to go in... Problem was we had stacked a bunch of plywood and old paneling Pete donated against it, so had to move all that stuff around the yard, then clear a spot on the back porch.
Finished corn Sunday morn, went to the funeral, had a chance to see Christine and Joe a short time at this event before they drove back to The Cities. Sera watched the kids, and they about drove her nuts - not sure why she wasn't able to maintain lead position with them! To keep these Wild Ones occupied, we took a walk looking for golf balls - or to expel some of their energy before bed.
THEN THE TRAGEDY HIT. We put all the dogs out one more time, and there was a disturbance. I sent Dennis to check on the ruckus and make sure there wasn't a cat cornered... Two of the dogs mauled Loopy-cat. She was in pretty rough shape, and not much I could do for her at that time of night. We had her in the bathroom and I planned on taking her to the vet first thing if she made it through the night - either wound treatment or to be humanely put down.
She crawled out of the box and behind the tub, so by morning I was trying to figure out how to get her out. The bathroom needs to be redone anyway, but I wasn't quite prepared to tear the tub out. Figured if necessary, we could always put the wading pool on the non-addition for bathing a few months while I caught up to bathroom repairs. My alternative thought was to cut a hole in the back wall from Val's room, but there are outlets in that wall...
Loopy passed on around 7:30 a.m., and all that was left to do was bury her.
I had more experiences and interaction with this cat than I did my stepmother? I know - it's a cat. But I knew this cat...
By then I was a week behind on class again and census for September was starting, so I went out to Bill's and gathered apples. (Makes sense, doesn't it?) Wednesday a ground wasp nailed my arm, which developed into a large, hard lump - thereby forcing me to seek Urgent Care on Friday. I had crab apples from Matt I jellied and apples from Bill's, caught up on class and worked on the non-addition.
I am now ruined for life on apple juice. I pulled out a juicer I bought at a garage sale, and after drinking fresh juice, I can never go back to store-bought frozen.
I also made out a To-Do list with over 60 things to do on it (from Val's ceiling to the bathroom to the roof to living room to floors to walls) and tried to organize it by outdoor / indoor, temperature dependent, noise levels. I can work outside with a light if it's quiet, but hammering past 10 p.m. may annoy the neighbors. Glue and caulk and tar of course are best done before freezing.
The rest of life squeezes in between this stuff. I realized Living is a Full-Time Job, and those of you who are un- or under- employed may be finding this is true.
Hang in there, sending everyone hugs -- bet you're glad you're not here (again), aren't you? Especially if I mention fiberglass ceiling panels that are now being cut and placed as an extra layer of wall insulation - itchy stuff it be! These are the ones I salvaged last fall and stored in a shed (which is why I had to build a work shop before winter last year). Durned glad you're not here, hm? :)
But... Son Dennis and girlfriend and 3 youngsters and dog came to stay the weekend and attend the funeral. A belt on their car disintegrated about 10 miles from the house, so both good and bad luck in that - rather have skipped the belt-thing, but they were close enough to get help! Long story short, they were broke down on a busy road on a Friday night with a car full of chaos. My main concern was getting the kids clear of the traffic, in that this routine traffic tends to be in a self-centered rush, oblivious to others. (Much of it is City folk screaming North for the weekend in a pack. They reverse the drive come Sunday.)
A friend towed the car for them and they spent most of Saturday trying to get a belt back on. Tom responded to their call of frustration, and determined someone had changed the engine block previously - then whipped the belt on in 20 minutes. The kids were hanging out with me much of the time, when I wasn't running in and out of Towne for this and that.
One of the 'this and that's' was a car load of paneling from Habitat, short pieces but suitable for the non-addition ($15 for the batch, not bad). One trip was for a different belt. And while I was out, I bought zucchini from a stand. With Sera bringing home 7 dozen ears of corn mid-week, I kept the kids busy shucking or grating to put this stuff up for the winter.
Yes, these are Busy Kids. Sera and Val opted to go camping with a friend, thus leaving their rooms for use by 'the southern gang' - Rochester, MN. Since the corn and stuff needed freezer space, and since I had a freezer donated by Pete in the yard waiting for a space to go in... Problem was we had stacked a bunch of plywood and old paneling Pete donated against it, so had to move all that stuff around the yard, then clear a spot on the back porch.
Finished corn Sunday morn, went to the funeral, had a chance to see Christine and Joe a short time at this event before they drove back to The Cities. Sera watched the kids, and they about drove her nuts - not sure why she wasn't able to maintain lead position with them! To keep these Wild Ones occupied, we took a walk looking for golf balls - or to expel some of their energy before bed.
THEN THE TRAGEDY HIT. We put all the dogs out one more time, and there was a disturbance. I sent Dennis to check on the ruckus and make sure there wasn't a cat cornered... Two of the dogs mauled Loopy-cat. She was in pretty rough shape, and not much I could do for her at that time of night. We had her in the bathroom and I planned on taking her to the vet first thing if she made it through the night - either wound treatment or to be humanely put down.
She crawled out of the box and behind the tub, so by morning I was trying to figure out how to get her out. The bathroom needs to be redone anyway, but I wasn't quite prepared to tear the tub out. Figured if necessary, we could always put the wading pool on the non-addition for bathing a few months while I caught up to bathroom repairs. My alternative thought was to cut a hole in the back wall from Val's room, but there are outlets in that wall...
Loopy passed on around 7:30 a.m., and all that was left to do was bury her.
I had more experiences and interaction with this cat than I did my stepmother? I know - it's a cat. But I knew this cat...
By then I was a week behind on class again and census for September was starting, so I went out to Bill's and gathered apples. (Makes sense, doesn't it?) Wednesday a ground wasp nailed my arm, which developed into a large, hard lump - thereby forcing me to seek Urgent Care on Friday. I had crab apples from Matt I jellied and apples from Bill's, caught up on class and worked on the non-addition.
I am now ruined for life on apple juice. I pulled out a juicer I bought at a garage sale, and after drinking fresh juice, I can never go back to store-bought frozen.
I also made out a To-Do list with over 60 things to do on it (from Val's ceiling to the bathroom to the roof to living room to floors to walls) and tried to organize it by outdoor / indoor, temperature dependent, noise levels. I can work outside with a light if it's quiet, but hammering past 10 p.m. may annoy the neighbors. Glue and caulk and tar of course are best done before freezing.
The rest of life squeezes in between this stuff. I realized Living is a Full-Time Job, and those of you who are un- or under- employed may be finding this is true.
Hang in there, sending everyone hugs -- bet you're glad you're not here (again), aren't you? Especially if I mention fiberglass ceiling panels that are now being cut and placed as an extra layer of wall insulation - itchy stuff it be! These are the ones I salvaged last fall and stored in a shed (which is why I had to build a work shop before winter last year). Durned glad you're not here, hm? :)
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